Anne Heche ‘peacefully taken off life support’ after death announcement

The actor, severely injured in a car crash on 5 August, had been legally declared dead, but had life support maintained to facilitate organ donation

Anne Heche has been taken off life support, a family representative said, following the announcement of her death on Friday.

Heche, 53, had been severely injured in a single-vehicle car crash on 5 August, and had suffered a “severe anoxic brain injury”, according to a statement to CNN by Heche’s family. Her “brain death” was confirmed on Friday, meeting a legal definition of death in California, but it is understood life support was maintained to facilitate organ donation. A family representative said she had been “peacefully taken off life support” on Sunday.

Heche’s acting career took off in the late 1990s with prominent roles in Walking and Talking, Donnie Brasco and I Know What You Did Last Summer, before reaching the Hollywood A-list with films such as Wag the Dog, Six Days, Seven Nights (opposite Harrison Ford) and the 1998 remake of Psycho.

A relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, which began in 1997, attracted considerable media interest. Heche claimed that the relationship led to her being blacklisted in Hollywood and was fired from a $10m picture deal. On Friday, Degeneres tweeted: “This is a sad day. I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.”

Other stars who have paid tribute to Heche include Robert De Niro, Ed Helms, Rosanna Arquette and James Gunn.

In 2001, Heche published a memoir that claimed she had been sexually abused by her father. “I was raised in a crazy family and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me,” she said at the time.

She was most recently in thriller The Vanished with Thomas Jane who she was in a relationship with which ended this year and legal drama series All Rise. Heche’s final finished roles include disaster film Supercell alongside Alec Baldwin and horror Full Ride with Dermot Mulroney.

Baldwin paid tribute in an Instagram video referring to her as “a very special comet shooting across the sky.”

Her family had previously made a statement to media news outlet TMZ, which said: “We have lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother and a loyal friend. Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”

A recently resurfaced red carpet interview sees Heche being asked what she would like to be remembered for. “Hopefully that I made my children happy … gave them a life that they love,” she said.

Contributor

Andrew Pulver

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Actor Anne Heche dies a week after car crash
The 53-year-old star of films including Donnie Brasco, Catfight and the remake of Psycho, did not regain consciousness after a car crash on 5 August

Catherine Shoard

12, Aug, 2022 @5:40 PM

Article image
Anne Heche ‘stable’ after suffering severe burns in Los Angeles car accident
Fans and friends express support for Hollywood star who drove her car into house, which was left ‘uninhabitable’

Samira Asma-Sadeque

07, Aug, 2022 @4:41 PM

Article image
Anne Heche obituary
Film, TV and Broadway star whose award-winning acting career was overshadowed by a life steeped in controversy

Michael Carlson

15, Aug, 2022 @10:46 AM

Article image
Anne Heche is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since car crash
A representative for the actor has described her as being in an ‘extreme critical condition’ following the incident on Friday

Catherine Shoard

09, Aug, 2022 @9:25 AM

Article image
Anne Heche ‘not expected to survive’ car crash, actor’s family says
The US actor will be taken off life support after it is determined if her organs are viable for donation, following a severe collision that left her car in flames

Guardian staff and agencies

12, Aug, 2022 @4:41 AM

Article image
Woman whose house Anne Heche drove into sues estate for $2m
Lynne Mishele takes legal action against actor’s estate for accident in which her Los Angeles rental home was destroyed

Catherine Shoard

16, Nov, 2022 @1:53 PM

Article image
Anne Heche: stigma around relationship with Ellen cost me huge movie deal
The actor has claimed stigma led to her being frozen out by studios for a decade after she dated TV comic

Guardian Film

07, Oct, 2020 @3:22 PM

Article image
Anne Heche was a little too stylish and smart for Hollywood
A striking presence in films from Psycho to Wag the Dog, her spiky intelligence did not help her in a town that likes its female leads conventional

Peter Bradshaw

12, Aug, 2022 @5:51 PM

Article image
Anne Heche was trapped in burning house for 45 minutes after crash
Firefighters battled flames and smoke to extract Hollywood actor after her car crashed into building in Los Angeles last month

Guardian staff and agencies

02, Sep, 2022 @6:57 PM

In brief: Anne Heche denies dosing Downey Jr with drugs

Plus: Veterans fear Mel Gibson's Vietnam war movie will be too gung ho; no shotgun wedding for Guy Ritchie; Claude Chabrol wins big prize for his 52nd film

14, Dec, 2000 @11:42 AM